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Hi! I'm Andrea and I live and play in Colorado. A few things about me: I work in the Craft Beer Industry, I'm a recovering cardio addict and a beginner lifter, and I love food (and beer, clearly). This is my space to chat about all those things so grab a snack or a cool one (or both) and join in.

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Sushi Unrolled

Remember my sushi love post where I talked about my new found adoration for sushi?

Well my bubble has since burst and I’m sort of bumming out about it now.

Scott and I have successfully eliminated HFCS from our diets. It’s been about two years now since we’ve made the cut.

Last Friday Scott wanted to get sushi and then spend Friday evening gaming. We are currently playing Army of Two The 40th Day and both of us were itching to get back to it. We didn’t discuss getting sushi out-loud because every time we do, the weather turns to crap and we end up not being able to get any.

Friday, the weather was crap but we were still able to get out and pick some up. We did not go to a sushi restaurant, we just picked up some sushi from Kroger. We had to go anyway for a few staples so picking up dinner was an easy and tasty option.

This is when my sushi joy came crashing down. I read the ingredients on the box and discovered that the rice vinegar they use contains HFCS.

They do not use straight rice vinegar but seasoned rice vinegar. The seasoned either contains HFCS or sugar. Sometimes both. I know this because I went investigating after my discovery. Kroger uses one that has HFCS in it.

Peachy.

I ate my sushi anyway because that was dinner but I detested the fact that I was still eating it. Naturally it didn’t taste as good because how could I enjoy myself knowing what I know now?

Scott tried to ease the situation by explaining that the amount we were actually taking in was a very low amount and he’s right. But that’s not the point, though. The point being, I have successfully avoided that ingredient for years now and yet it pops up where you least expect it.

It shows me that I have to be super on guard and that I must always read ingredient listings. It didn’t even occur to me that there would be HFCS in that sushi. To me the ingredients seemed simple and honest. I didn’t even consider that there would be HFCS in the vinegar of all places. Because I just assumed, it came back to haunt me.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t really annoyed and disappointed about this turn of events.

But it also makes me curious about sushi in general. Would a restaurant use that same kind of vinegar? Even if I order sushi from a nice restaurant, am I risking eating HFCS because of the type of vinegar they decide to use? I can’t really ask them, “Excuse me, but could you tell me the ingredients in the vinegar you use?”

I don’t want to assume anymore because this clearly doesn’t work.

Scott and I have already decided to start making sushi at home which is fine. But I know occasionally we might want to go out for sushi. Will we be able to without fear of encountering a nasty ingredient that we have been trying very hard to avoid? I don’t know the answer to that. Do you?

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7 thoughts on “Sushi Unrolled”

I had the same issue with grocery store sushi. A lot of time, since they have to keep up with a busier clientele and aren’t a restaurant, they’ll use the seasoned rice vinegar for the rice. It’s a shortcut. Most traditional sushi restaurants will use sugar and rice vinegar, not the shortcut stuff. I think you’d be fine if you went to a sushi restaurant instead of Kroger!

I agree with Mara! But you could always just call up a restaurant beforehand and ask what brand of rice vinegar they use and familiarize yourself with the brands. It could take some effort, but might help you prepare yourself!

I’d wager that nearly every meal we eat in a restaurant contains HFCSS. It’s in so many prepared foods that unless the restaurant makes every part of every dish from scratch they likely have some ingredients wit HFCS.

I rationalize that HFCS is nasty but it’s not the end of the world to eat a bit sometimes. We eat more than 90% of our food at home where there’s no HFCS so any little bit we eat at restaurants is inconsequential to our diet.

when i go out to have sushi i always make sure to ask for the rolls to be made w/o the rice vinegar…they’re usually petty accomidating since they always have regular rice around that they serve in bowls to people!

When it comes to things HFCS, I honestly don’t see how we can ever be sure to avoid it when eating out. Unless you are growing, producing, and preparing all of your food, there is just no way to be 100% certain about even the most minute amount of an ingredient. That’s where I just have to let it go, and not let it stress me out. A little moderation here and there isn’t harmful.